What are the four basic steps of retirement planning?

There are four steps you could think about when planning for your retirement. Calculate your expenses, don't ignore debt, save money for retirement and protect your savings.

How do you qualify for retirement benefits (Social Security)?

When you work and pay Social Security taxes, you earn “credits” toward Social Security benefits. The number of credits you need to get retirement benefits depends on when you were born. If you were born in 1929 or later, you need 40 credits (10 years of work). If you stop working before you have enough qualifying credits, the credits remain on your SS record. So, if you return to work, you could add more credits. But unless you have the required number, the government won’t pay any benefits.

Retirement Planning

Q: What are the 3 types of retirement?

There are different types of retirement that are emerging. • Traditional Retirement: You hit retirement age and stop working. This type requires you to save and invest from early on while using Social Security benefits as gravy. • Semi-Retirement: You may scale down hours to enjoy more time off or work in some form that keeps some income coming in. This also extends your retirement savings. • Temporary Retirement: You may take a mini break from working before going back to a career or rejoining the workforce. This will require a complex financial plan as you may be withdrawing rather than adding to your savings.

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Why is retirement planning important?

One of the main outcomes of retirement planning is a more stress-free life. As a rule, retirement is an age where one wants to relax and enjoy the fruits of their labor of their lifespan. Having money work for you instead of working for the money is therefore important.

Given people are living longer, retirement planning has many sides it didn’t have for other generations.

For example, many people today work part-time or on contract and have flexible hours. But these positions do not always have perks like retirement plans and health insurance. That could make it harder to prepare for the lifestyle you hope to lead once you retire.

This makes it even more important to make smart choices today for tomorrow. What could help? Things like making a commitment to put money aside in a retirement fund on a routine basis. And making smart choices about insurance and benefits.

What are the 3 types of retirement?

There are different types of retirement that are emerging. One reason is that we’re living longer. Another is that some people want or must work longer instead of having retirement be all about leisure. Whatever type you hope to achieve, it’ll require a tailored strategy.

Traditional Retirement

You hit retirement age and stop working. This type requires you to save and invest from early on while using Social Security benefits as gravy.

Partial Retirement

You may scale down hours to enjoy more time off or work in some form that keeps some income coming in. This also extends your retirement savings.

Temporary Retirement

You may take a mini break from working before going back to a career or rejoining the workforce. This will require a complex financial plan as you may be withdrawing rather than adding to your savings.

Traditional Retirement

You hit retirement age and stop working. This type requires you to save and invest from early on while using Social Security benefits as gravy.

Partial Retirement

You may scale down hours to enjoy more time off or work in some form that keeps some income coming in. This also extends your retirement savings.

Temporary Retirement

What is the full retirement age for social security?

If born from 1943 to 1954, the full retirement age is 66 years old. The full retirement age goes up to 67 if you were born from 1955 to 1960. The following chart lists the full retirement age by year of birth.

Year of birth	Full retirement age
1943-1954	66
1955	66 + 2 months
1956	66 + 4 months
1957	66 + 6 months
1958	66 + 8 months
1959	66 + 10 months
1960 and later	67
If born of January 1^st of any year	Refer to the previous year

More Frequently Asked Questions: Retirement Planning

Click the question below to learn more.

How do you qualify for retirement benefits (Social Security)?
When you work and pay Social Security taxes, you earn “credits” toward Social Security benefits. The number of credits you need to get retirement benefits depends on when you were born. If you were born in 1929 or later, you need 40 credits (10 years of work). If you stop working before you have enough qualifying credits, the credits remain on your SS record. So, if you return to work, you could add more credits. But unless you have the required number, the government won’t pay any benefits.
What are the four basic steps of retirement planning?
There are four steps you could think about when planning for your retirement.
#1 Calculate your expenses
Instead of your income, it’s your expenses that should point to how much you need to save for retirement. As a result, you should start to track your fixed and variable expenses way before you expect to retire. This helps to get a realistic picture of your cash flow.
#2 Don’t ignore debt
A debt is money you owe and must repay. The more debt you can pay off while you work, the less you’ll have to tap into from your retirement savings plans.
#3 Save money for retirement
There are various retirement funds to consider, depending on your situation. Retirement plans could include a Solo 401(K), Roth IRA, IRA, Self-directed IRA and several other options we could discuss with you.
#4 Protect your savings
Ryan is a firm believer that today’s retirees need to protect some savings from potential losses. Like inflation and stock market downturns.
Why Summit Financial Planners for Retirement Planning?
Retirement Income Planning is one of the main services we provide at SFP. So, we also have the expertise to bring well researched solutions and financial plans to the table. Three areas we focus on with our clients are:
1. We take care to preserve and protect your assets to ensure they have financial independence
2. We determine how to get the most out of Social Security and other retirement benefits to help you receive maximum retirement income
3. We craft strategies for your estate planning and distribution of assets
As a client of Summit Financial Planners, you could expect us to take time to listen to your retirement goals and help you achieve them with a tailored plan. Our clients, Steve and Eileen M. Woburn, MA said, “I believe that Ryan acts in our best interest to make recommendations that will secure our future”.
What are the best retirement plans?

The 5 most common things that people wish someone had told them before they retired

According to Ryan, while everyone’s experience is different, there are 5 things most people wish someone had told them before retirement.

A dollar today does not buy what it used to — inflation is very real and people approaching retirement need to keep that in mind when planning for the future.
Big gains in retirement savings do not help you as much as the losses hurt.
Time can be your friend or your enemy — if you are protecting your nest egg throughout your career, you can go into retirement comfortably and confidently. However, if it is not secure and the market crashes it is possible not to have time to recover.
Have a purpose going into retirement — whether you are volunteering, babysitting your grandkids, or enjoying your free time, make sure you have a plan and some goals.
Make sure you use a retirement specialist when planning– this needs to be someone who focuses only on retirement and knows what your goals look like.

Read the rest of the interview with Ryan and Authority Magazine here.

Got questions? Contact us today.

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Our approach to working with clients is one that is both relaxed and confident. The sound and well-researched solutions we provide to you is intended to establish a solid financial plan for your future.

– RYAN SKINNER, PRESIDENT